The Mitchell Park Library & Community Center is now open!

Construction is underway for a new 56,000 square foot joint facility that will replace the two former facilities that were torn down in October 2010.Services are provided at temporary locations during the two years of demolition and construction. Take a look at this 2011 video walk-through . The Library will operate from the Cubberley Community Center Auditorium during the closure, and the Community Center's activities have been redistributed to other locations. The anticipated opening of the new building is 2014. To learn more, read the current Construction Project Newsletter. The FAQs page may answer your questions.

The Mitchell Park Library opened in 1958 following a voter approved bond measure that also funded the construction of the Main Library. The library was 9,478 square feet. Located in a neighborhood with several schools, it is used heavily by students after school. An independent consultant determined that to meet the needs of the service area, the Mitchell Park Library should be three times larger and have a collection twice the size.

The Mitchell Park Community Center, built in 1967, was 10,400 square feet. It provided daily adult exercise classes, art classes for all ages, an after school teen center, and a center for youth leadership groups.

Several options were evaluated for improving these facilities. The City Council determined that the best solution is to replace both facilities with a new joint Mitchell Park library and community center built on the parking lot on south side of the current community center. Parking for the new joint facility will be where the library and adjacent parking are now located. The library will be approximately 41,000 square feet housed in two-stories adjacent to Middlefield Road. The 15,000 square foot single story community center, on the park side of the site, will surround a courtyard to preserve a heritage coast live oak tree.

Features of the proposed design for the new Mitchell Park Library & Community Center:

This project is the partial renovation of the existing Cubberley Community Center "Auditorium" and its support spaces into temporary library and library staff facilities while the Downtown & Mitchell Park Libraries are under construction. A temporary library with books, computer terminals and seating has been located in the main auditorium area. The square footage of the temporary library is approximately 5,090 square feet and reuses furniture from the Mitchell Park and Downtown libraries. The Mitchell Park Library currently has 83,000 volumes in the collection. The temporary library accommodates approximately 45,000 volumes, 28 reader table seats, 10 study carrel seats, 18 computers and associated seats and 10 lounge seats.